Engineering faculty, students mobilize to help COVID-19 efforts

As the coronavirus continues to sicken millions of people across the United States and the world, Berkeley researchers and students are contributing their time and expertise to combat the outbreak.

From providing real-time localized information on infections to more efficiently resterilizing N95 masks, the engineering community is focusing on ways to inform the public and aid beleaguered healthcare workers facing critical shortages of medical supplies.

microscope image of "spike-liposome" technique

Could liposomes be the unsung heroes of the pandemic?

Berkeley News: Berkeley engineers attached SARS-CoV-2 “spike” proteins to the surface of liposomes, creating lab-made mimics of the deadly virus as part of a process to enable efficient testing of antibody therapies.

Berkeley engineers win Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times Awards

Nine engineering teaching groups were honored for innovations in remote instruction

Exploded view of N95 mask, and assembled prototype modeled by undergrad researcher Jason Duckering

Anti-COVID mask breaks the mold

Scientists from Berkeley Engineering and Berkeley Lab have designed a rechargeable N95 mask with a custom fit

Illustration of cellphone checking for coronavirus RNA

CRISPR-based COVID-19 test uses smartphone cameras

New diagnostic test, with accurate results in under 30 minutes, developed by scientists at Berkeley (including bioengineer Daniel Fletcher) and Gladstone Institutes

Graphic of Lucira coronavirus test device and 4-step instructions

Home coronavirus test springs from Berkeley Engineering roots

First FDA-approved, rapid test for home use was developed by Lucira Health, founded by bioengineering Ph.D. graduates Debkishore Mitra and John Waldeisen

Graphic with images of coronavirus superimposed over map of COVID-19 hot spots in the U.S.

Berkeley Engineering takes on COVID-19

In response to the pandemic, engineers at Berkeley pivoted their research to help test, treat and heal a growing number of patients.

UC Berkeley workers remove a wastewater autosampler from a sewer drain

Tracking COVID-19 in our sewers

Berkeley civil engineers have developed a rapid, low-cost and effective method to test for the presence of the coronavirus in wastewater flowing through municipal sewer systems

Illustration of masked community members

Fung Institute responds to COVID-19

How various members of the Fung Institute community take initiative to support COVID-19 response

Grace O'Connell with a sleep apnea machine converted to a ventilator for COVID-19

Berkeley team creates respiratory devices from sleep apnea machines

Resourceful and affordable, about 600 apparatuses from Grace O’Connell’s lab head to Ecuador this month

Monitoring COVID-19 prevalence in municipal wastewater

Samples from a single collection station can reveal clues to how the SARS-CoV-2 virus is circulating in communities

Gerbrand Ceder, Teresa Head-Gordon, Jennifer Listgarten, Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli

Four Berkeley engineers receive awards for COVID-19 research

C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute announces new funding for projects

Four lead researchers with masks standing outside.

Putting coronavirus antibody tests to the test

Berkeley bioengineer Patrick Hsu and colleagues at UCSF found flaws in many of the 14 serology tests evaluated.

Researchers lead federal efforts to improve COVID-19 testing

Rebecca Abergel, Paul Adams, and Adam Arkin are overseeing projects designed to boost coronavirus diagnostic technology

Smartphone with tall buildings in the background

Fighting back against coronavirus misinformation

Hany Farid is conducting a major survey of people to see how much they believe conspiracies about COVID-19

Cal Students Launch Resource 19 to Connect Creators with Hospitals in Need

New initiative helps designers, engineers and makers explore open-source plans for medical supplies needed by those on the frontlines of the COVID19 pandemic

Low-cost, readily deployable respirators could help frontline healthcare workers

Engineers develop powered air-purifying respirators that can be rapidly manufactured using widely available components

Paige Balcom and Peter Okwoko wearing face shields.

Engineering Ph.D. student turns recycled plastic into face shields for Ugandan medics

Paige Balcom is co-founder of Takataka Plastics, which has its roots in Berkeley’s Big Ideas Contest.

Berkeley faculty discuss data science, computing in response to COVID-19

Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter and Public Health Dean Michael Lu moderate April 7 roundtable with computing and data science researchers

CITRIS Invention Lab opens to produce COVID-19 supplies

Makerspaces on campus allowed to operate to support projects in response to the pandemic.

Rendering of a sleep apnea device retrofitted to help COVID-19 patients

Turning sleep apnea machines into ventilators

Converting CPAP and BiPAP machines safely could add tens of thousands to COVID-19 ventilator supply

Screenshot of CoronApp mapping global coronavirus spread

Providing people with coronavirus-related data most useful to them

A group of Berkeley students have created a website/app that contains localized information about COVID-19

ICU anaesthesia ventilator workstation in an emergency room

Controlling ventilators from a distance

Professor Michel Maharbiz is working with medical device makers to allow hospital staff to remotely monitor and adjust patients’ ventilators

Hands holding N95 face protection mask, ready to wear.

Returning used N95 masks to duty quickly — and safely

Professor Amy Herr is part of a research consortium that seeks to provide scientific consensus on face mask sterilization methods

Healthcare worker in hospital storage room.

Getting the right equipment to the right people

Professor Bin Yu and her team are developing models to connect hospitals with needed supplies

COVID-19 first target of new AI research consortium

UC Berkeley and UIUC are the headquarters for the C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute, which announced a call for research proposals for AI technology to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bioengineers continuing the fight against COVID-19

Berkeley bioengineers have launched themselves into efforts to study the COVID-19 virus and outbreak, mitigate its effects, and support victims and caregivers

electron microscopic image of the coronavirus

CEE faculty actively contributing to solutions to COVID-19 pandemic

From logistics algorithms to expert commentary, faculty in civil and environmental engineering are responding to COVID-19 calls